Aerovironment Delivers Electric Vehicle Test System to DoD

Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM

AeroVironment, Inc. recently delivered its AV-800 — a first-of-its-kind electric vehicle (EV) test system — to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, MI for advanced vehicle testing. The high-power, heavy-duty, near-megawatt-scale equipment will be part of the new TARDEC Ground System Power and Energy Laboratory (GSPEL), where it will be used to conduct critical testing needed for the advancement of ground-system electric transportation technologies that support and protect today's war fighter.

The 800-kW single- and dual-channel power processor is the latest and highest-power system in the company's line of EV test systems. It is a bidirectional unit that returns energy back to the grid at more than 90% efficiency, and a key component of the GSPEL as TARDEC seeks to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

“As America's laboratory for advanced military automotive technology, TARDEC is at the forefront of developing tomorrow's automotive solutions,” said Michael Bissonette, senior vice president and general manager, AV Efficient Energy Systems. “AeroVironment is pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with TARDEC with the delivery of our first near-megawatt-scale power processor, the AV-800. This new system will enable the development of high-powered electric automotive solutions, representing a significant new capability for TARDEC and for the electric transportation industry.”

The AV-800 supports the development of systems such as large hybrid electric vehicles, high-power energy-storage systems, power-generation equipment, drivetrains, and electrical components. It can also perform hardware-in-the-loop testing, and parallel component and system development.

The AV-800 is designed for testing large hybrid vehicles, such as buses, trucks, military vehicles, construction equipment, airport ground-support equipment, and locomotives. The AV-800 can perform a variety of rigorous testing and simulation functions critical to moving newer technology toward reality, including charge and discharge cycling as well as performance simulation for battery cells, battery packs, fuel cells, and ultracapacitors.

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